After Eunwoo left, Juheon heard several reminders about what the pregnant person should be careful of until the next checkup. Since they created the baby through a contract, there were many things to deliberately take care of, unlike ordinary couples. After hearing the necessary matters during pregnancy, Juheon hurriedly moved according to his next schedule. It was to visit his attending physician he’d made an appointment with.
It was to get consultation about his body condition that reacted strangely only to Eunwoo after meeting him. He’d informed his attending physician of his condition in advance. There was a need to find out whether this phenomenon limited only to Eunwoo was temporary or would continue. Of course, Juheon, who disliked change, implicitly hoped it was temporary, but if it wasn’t, he needed to prepare.
Eunwoo was definitely somewhat different from others, but Juheon didn’t deliberately show it. He didn’t want to inform others of his changes, and so he could no longer postpone the examination. He absolutely had to find out why this change had occurred.
“How is it? Was the relationship with Mr. Baek Eunwoo temporary after all? Looking at your outfit, it’s no different from usual—have you become uncomfortable again?”
“…No, not at all. I’m just going around dressed like this according to my usual habit. You know well. I’m not just meeting Baek Eunwoo today.”
The doctor, who had been busily moving the keyboard while listening to Juheon’s story, stopped their hands and entered into full-fledged conversation.
“Doctor. Could these problems possibly be because of pheromones?”
“Well. Germaphobia isn’t a pheromone problem. Since it’s a factor that comes from individual tendencies and obsessive-compulsive disorder, it can’t be connected to pheromones. There’s never been a case of germaphobia changing due to another person’s pheromones either.”
Juheon wasn’t unaware of that either. Rather, knowing this is the problem. After feeling the change due to Eunwoo, he wondered if this might be a temporary error due to pheromones, so he tried making contact with others. There happened to be a school reunion, and Juheon participated in that gathering to test himself. But the result wasn’t even worth looking at.
“There was a gathering a while ago. So I tried to have a meal together…”
“You failed.”
Juheon closed his eyes and nodded. As if he didn’t even want to remember that incident, his face instantly turned white.
“I failed miserably. No, it wasn’t just failure—I threw everything up and kept remembering that terrible face of the person who had food in their mouth, and I even collapsed in the bathroom. In that damn dirty bathroom.”
Juheon raised his voice a little as if he couldn’t accept his behavior at that time. But how dirty could a 5-star hotel bathroom be? Rather, it would have been in a cleaner state than anywhere else. Watching Juheon describe such a place like a countryside traditional toilet, the doctor shook their head slightly.
“After coming home, I repeated washing and disinfecting, washing and disinfecting like a crazy person for three days. I thoroughly avoided contact too.”
“You must have had great hardship. It must have been difficult. But those phenomena don’t exist with Mr. Baek Eunwoo. Right?”
“…Yes, so I’m going crazy. Because I don’t know the answer. If I knew the answer to what kind of mechanism causes this, I’d feel less frustrated…”
Juheon is someone who can only be satisfied after seeing the exact answer that fits the cause and effect of any matter. To Juheon with such tendencies, Eunwoo, whose answer he couldn’t know, was a truly uncomfortable person. Since he didn’t feel any unpleasantness or dirtiness from Baek Eunwoo, it was just uncomfortable. Because he couldn’t know the reason.
What was more surprising on top of that was that even though he could just not see him if he was uncomfortable, he kept becoming curious about him. Perhaps because he was a type of person he’d never seen in his life, he kept wanting to observe him even though it was uncomfortable. Just how far was he capable of going?
Not long ago, there was an amazing incident where he simply drank beverages with Eunwoo. Somehow the situation ended up that way. At that time, Eunwoo drinking the beverage wasn’t dirty at all. Even when juice slightly flowed out from the straw, it wasn’t nauseating at all.
I guess that’s just how it is. Anyone would be like that when drinking beverages. He thinks he even had such thoughts. Surprisingly, he naturally accepted Eunwoo’s appearance.
“For me, eating something together with someone is something so long ago I can’t even remember it. As you know, I don’t even eat things together with my family. I got cocky at that gathering because I was fine drinking beverages with Baek Eunwoo.”
“Certainly, Mr. Baek Eunwoo is something special. It’s natural that you’d be confused. Because nothing like this has ever happened even once.”
“Should I go to psychiatry?”
“Well. For now, it would be good to get a pheromone response test before that. This is a first case for me too, but I do have some guesses.”
“Guesses?”
When the word “guesses” came from the doctor’s mouth, Juheon’s complexion brightened like a person who discovered water in a desert.
“It’s my speculation, but I think it might be because Mr. Baek Eunwoo is carrying Executive Director’s baby.”
“Pardon?”
“Mm, currently in Mr. Baek Eunwoo’s body, the Executive Director’s pheromones are mixed due to pregnancy. He’s also carrying a child with the Executive Director’s genes. So naturally there must have been many changes in his body. Since another person’s pheromones and hormones entered his body, the changes would be considerable. On top of that, the hormones coming from the baby’s body were added, so Mr. Baek Eunwoo’s body must be in a completely different state from before.”
“…That would make sense.”
Hearing a problem he hadn’t thought of, Juheon agreed with the doctor’s words.
“Due to the Executive Director’s pheromones in Mr. Baek Eunwoo’s body, Mr. Baek Eunwoo might not be unpleasant. The Executive Director’s pheromone scent suppressed that discomfort. Because it’s familiar. People feel stability in familiar things. However, this is still just my hypothesis. Still, currently it has the highest possibility.”
“That could be possible.”
“There’s no method but to find out through continuous testing and observation. I’ll also keep looking to see if there are cases overseas. Since you’re here, it would be good to get a pheromone response test. Make an appointment for psychological counseling too. Mr. Baek Eunwoo will also take some time to receive an IV drip.”
The pheromone response test takes a good hour. Is this something worth doing a pheromone test for? It’s unpleasant to have to lie on a bed where who knows who lay and entrust himself unconsciously to others. It’s not like this will find the cause, but Juheon fell into thought for a moment.
However, if he has his own data, he can match it with Eunwoo’s pheromones and properties anytime, so it wouldn’t be bad. Juheon, who had decided, left Eunwoo a short message and expressed his intention to get tested.
***
I, who had decided to get just one nutritional shot, additionally received a pheromone stabilizer as well. It was indeed a shot perfect for me, who had become weak to another person’s alpha pheromones. They said if I got this, alpha pheromones that were close to a foul smell would feel less nauseating. Since my stomach has been particularly bad these days, I really hope it’s effective.
– Executive Director, I’ll wait at the cafe on the first floor.
I went down to the cafe I’d spotted when coming up to wait for the executive director who said he’d come out a little late because of a test. Passing through the crowded lobby, I went to the cafe located near the back entrance. Though it was on one side of the hospital, it was quite a pretty place with its cute decorations.
Did they decorate it like this to give a different atmosphere from the cold feeling of the hospital? I stood in front of the menu board with pretty writing and drawings and began to worry about what to drink.
“Baby, help me choose something to drink. Between green grape juice and mango juice, what should we drink? What? Drink both?”
There’s no better excuse than the baby at times like this. It’s not me, but what the baby wants to eat. So I should order both and let it taste them all. I stroked my belly, recalling the baby that had shown me its vigorous heartbeat a little while ago.
In the end, I ordered both beverages and tasted them. It was when I was waiting for the executive director in a greatly improved mood from the delicious drinks.
“Excuse me. By any chance…”
“Yes?”
In a place where there was no one to call me, someone approached me.
“Baek Eunwoo? You’re Eunwoo, right?”
A voice I didn’t know called me.
